1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vacuum processing system, vacuum processing device, lubricating agent supply device, and lubricating agent supplying method.
2. Related Art
In a related art semiconductor device manufacturing process, various processes are performed while transporting a processing subject such as a wafer or the like in a vacuum environment. The transport device that is used for transporting the processing subject uses a lubricating agent such as grease or the like in order to reduce friction of the movable sites thereof.
In a vacuum environment, the lubricating agent will more readily evaporate as compared to the ambient atmosphere. Therefore, a large amount of lubricating agent is consumed. Thus, the lubricating agent must be replenished more frequently in a transport device that is provided in a vacuum environment as compared to a transport device that is provided in the ambient atmosphere.
Patent document 1 provides a transport mechanism in a vacuum chamber, a grease storage part, and a grease supply mechanism, and discloses a vacuum processing device where the grease that is stored in the grease storage part is supplied to the transport mechanism through a grease supply mechanism.